The Star: November 19, 2020

The Star Thursday November 19 2020
30
OUR PEOPLE – COLLEEN COLE
Life with Highland dancing no short fling
Colleen Cole started
Highland dancing as
a five-year-old and
76 years later she
is still immersed in
a quintessentially
Scottish passion in
New Zealand’s ‘English’
city. She reflects on a
life-long interest with
Chris Barclay
When did you take up
Highland dancing, and why?
I started when I was five in
Invercargill. My parents thought
I had a bit of a cough, so they
thought Highland dancing
would do me good. So here I am
76 years later. I faintly remember
the first teacher I went to had a
lot of kids so my parents took me
away to a high school girl, her
name was Betty Thompson. She
just gave me one-on-one lessons.
When we came to Christchurch
I went to Betty Carnachan when
I was eight-ish. She used to teach
Highland, ballet and tap …
modern dance.
You finished up Highland
dancing in a competitive sense
when you were 18, an age where
many are lost to the discipline.
Yet you persevered. What is the
enduring appeal?
You do make a lot of good
friends, though by the time you
reach my age (81), you’ve lost a
few of them. When I finished
dancing I was already a teacher
and a judge. I’ve always enjoyed
teaching the kids. A lot of
people come up to me and say:
‘I remember you teaching at the
Cale (Canterbury Caledonian
Society) when I used to come
along and now I’ve got my
grandchildren here.’
Your parents got you involved
to benefit your health, but did
you ever suffer any injuries
when doing, say, the Sword
Dance?
I never had any, but they seem
to have a lot of injuries these
days. They seem to pull muscles
and pull tendons and goodness
knows what. Maybe it’s because
of some of the flooring they
DEDICATED: Colleen Cole has been involved in the Scottish tradition of Highland dancing for 76 years. (Right): Dressed in
her attire aged 8.
PHOTO (left): GEOFF SLOAN
dance on. We had tongue and
groove all the time when we were
kids. It (discomfort) was only an
issue for me when I got older and
I couldn’t turn my knees out so
far because of my hips.
The Scots are known for their
fiscal restraint. Is it expensive
to get kitted out in a kilt?
Some get their kilts made
locally, some of them get them
from Canada. You can spend a
lot of money on kilts, $500 off
the top of my head for a new one.
When I was a kid we wore the
plaid, the jacket. We were really
weighed down with brooches
and things. Nowadays up to the
age of 14 they can wear a nice
little waistcoat and a lighter
weight kilt.
Does the dancer decide
what tartan they wear, or is it
specified?
Do they ever. We only had the
Royal Stewart which was all red.
Then the dress tartans came in
and became popular. There’s a
rule on how it should be worn,
there’s no rule regarding the
actual tartan they should wear.
Is Highland dancing
primarily confined to people of
Scottish heritage?
My heritage is actually Irish.
My maiden name was Fergus.
How popular is Highland
dancing in New Zealand’s
‘English city, surely it’s a
bigger deal in Dunedin, the
‘Edinburgh of the South?’
We have about 20 teachers in
Christchurch. Canterbury-West
Coast as we call it is the largest
centre for dancers and pipers in
New Zealand. The Caledonian
Society and the Scottish Society
of New Zealand contribute to
the large numbers. We have
winter lessons there on Saturday
and that brings the children in.
Well, we try to bring the children
in. There’s a lot of uphill work
getting new kids to start. You’ve
got to have the parents wanting
to do it.
Highland dancing was
originally a male bastion, but
now it’s associated more with
females isn’t it? How do you get
more laddies involved?
Highland dancing was for
men in the beginning, not the
women, way, way back. Quite
often boys come along because
their sisters are learning and
then the boys get a bit of a grip
on it and away they go. But they
want to play rugby as well, or
football. We’ve got some very
strong male dancers in New
Zealand, but not many. I could
probably count them on two
hands, but they carry on dancing
right into their 20s.
You have two boys, were they
encouraged to give it a go?
Jason had lovely feet (for
ballet). The teacher I took him
to, she had a son and he’d come
to the class too. As soon as that
boy stopped that was it for Jason.
He started to learn the bagpipes
but I think his friends told him
it wasn’t the thing to do and
he gave it up. I never pushed
(eldest boy) Gregory. Wendy,
my daughter, learnt Highland
dancing. When she got to about
14 her friends said to her: ‘It’s not
the thing to do Wendy.’
•Turn to page 32
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